Serengeti North Wilderness Camp
Tanzania | adventure, all-inclusive, eco-friendly, escourted, family, group, safari, solo, tailor-made | safari-tented | national-park, river | comfort
Serengeti North Wilderness Camp is a seasonal camp that’s open from June to November. It benefits greatly from the ability to migrate around some of the best game viewing areas of Serengeti National Park, all while complying to strict eco centred criteria. Comprising just twelve spacious tents (including a 4-bed family tent), each unit comes complete with an en-suite bathroom, al fresco bucket shower and generous amenities. A comprehensive selection of contemporary safari activities await you, from classic 4×4 safari game viewing excursions to hot-air balloon arial adventures from which to view the wildlife below, as well as opportunities to view the Mara River crossings of the Great Migration cycle. Delectable dining awaits all hungry guests, with three delicious meals served each day, freshly prepared from locally sourced ingredients and a host of lite bites and drinks served in-between.
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Situated in East Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, with Kenya to the north and Mozambique to the south, the Tanzanian landscape is defined by an intrinsically diverse array of geography, comprising lush savannahs, arid deserts, stretching wetlands and mountainous terrain. Featuring some of the highest game concentrations on the continent, this vast land is synonymous for the Great Migration, a plethora of national parks and expansive Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) that dot the landscape. Serengeti North Wilderness Camp is a ‘seasonal’ camp located in the north of the Serengeti National Park, a short distance from the Mara River.
The Northern Serengeti is beautiful, featuring the sights of gently rolling hills, riverine forests broken by small rivers and occasional granite outcrops and ‘kopjes. This is the place to be as masses of migrating Wildebeest and Zebra cross over the Mara River in spectacular fashion. Dramatic river crossings ensue as tens of thousands of animals hurl themselves into the waters in a desperate bid to safely reach the other side.
A minimum stay of 3 to 4 nights is recommended to relax and fully explore the region. This camp is only open during the peak migration period when the large wildebeest herds are specifically in the area – primarily June to November. However, you may combine a few nights at Serengeti North with some nights in the central camp to get the best of the Serengeti. Camp is accessible via a 12-hour drive from Arusha. Alternatively, fly from Arusha to Kogatende Airstrip and conclude your journey with a 30-minute game drive to camp location.
- Comfortable 4-star seasonal camp situated within the Northern Serengeti
- Fully inclusive rates, including all standard food and beverages
- Breezy canvas tents with al fresco bucket showers and en-suite bathrooms
- Concentrated game viewing and exotic birdwatching featuring over 500 endemic species
- Pristine stargazing amid the unpolluted night sky
- Various safari activities led by experienced guides
- Locally inspired cuisine with options for western classics
- Children aged 6 years and older welcome
Other safari highlights in the region include Ngorongoro Crater, Olduvai Gorge, Ol Donyo Lengai active volcano and Lake Natron, and of course the Rift Valley, Lake Manyara and Tarangire National Parks. Maps, reference books and a selection of board-games are available for guests who may wish to partake in family games activities or expand their knowledge of the surrounding wildlife and landscape. Tents do not possess electrical outlets, however, battery and equipment charging facilities are available in camp.
With fully inclusive rates, you’re free to indulge in a mouth-watering selection of locally sourced alcoholic and none-alcoholic beverages at your own leisure, which includes the three set meals that are served throughout the day. With a choice of private and communal, al fresco and under canvas dining locations, there are options to suit the preferences of all guests. Depending on what time of year you decide to visit, you may wish to pack accordingly.
Generally, temperatures soar during the day, so you should bring light and airy clothing; ideally neutral colours such as cream or khaki. Bring shorts, a comfortable pair of walking shoes/boots and a sunhat. You are advised to bring sunblock and lotions. Temperatures drop in the evening and do not begin to rise until the late morning, so make sure to bring a jacket and other warm articles of clothing along with you.
These comfortable and robust tented suites feature an en-suite bathroom with an al fresco bucket shower and eco flush toilet. Lighting is provided by 12-volt solar powered installations with bedside lamps provided. Interior is furnished to invoke the essence of safari, with canvas hues of khaki and cream, eloquently constructed with various amenities. These units can accommodate up to 2 guests.
Amenities Include:
- En-suite bathroom
- Al fresco bucket shower
- Veranda
- Double or twin beds
- Pure cotton linen
- Tea & coffee
This larger, family sized unit can accommodate 2 adults and 2 children in optimum comfort. Similar in design to the standard canvas units, these suites feature an en-suite bathroom with an al fresco bucket shower and eco flush toilet. Lighting is provided by 12-volt solar powered installations with bedside lamps provided. Interior is furnished to invoke the essence of safari, with canvas hues of khaki and cream, eloquently constructed with various amenities.
Amenities Include:
- En-suite bathroom
- Al fresco bucket shower
- Veranda
- Double or twin beds
- Pure cotton linen
- Tea & coffee
The menu is informed by authentic bush cuisine, featuring more familiar but equally delicious alternatives. Seasoned chefs are trained to accommodate guests with dietary constraints, ensuring all preferences are accounted for. Three meals are served daily, including a hearty breakfast, followed by an atmospheric spot of alfresco bush dining and picnics between safari activities. Come the evening, a lavish three-course banquet awaits you, with dishes ranging from light and healthy to lavish and indulgent, prepared from the freshest locally sourced ingredients. With fully inclusive rates, you’re free to indulge at your own leisure, including a refreshing range of locally sourced alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. You’re free to stop by the camp bar any time to grab a refreshing beverage of your choice.
Embark on daily game drives amid the sprawling, fertile plains of the Northern Serengeti. Experienced guides, familiar with the lay of the land and the abundance of wildlife that roams it will lead you safely through the lush landscape in search of the many staple safari creatures that depart on mass during the cycle of the Great Migration, featuring particularly high concentrations of wildebeest and other migrating plains game. Exotic Big 5 game viewing awaits your gaze, with regular sightings of all the big cats and predator and prey alike as you survey the landscape in open 4×4 safari vehicles.
Bush walks will allow you to soak up the intricacies of nature while traversing the land at a more intimate and insightful pace than conventional safari game drives. Knowledgeable guides will discuss with you the features of the land while pointing out local flora and fauna. Watch birds, walk in the footsteps of a lion herd or wildebeest, stalk the movements of the Great Migration, unravel the stories behind animal tracks or simply enjoy the vistas.
The Serengeti-Mara ecosystem is one of Africa’s Endemic Bird Areas, featuring over 500 species waiting for you to discover. Bird watching in the Serengeti is phenomenal year-round, but at its absolute best during November through April. Not only is this when European and North African migratory birds are present, but it is also nesting time for resident species. Keep your eyes peeled for the likes of the black-headed gonolek, Fischer’s lovebird and Verreaux’s eagle.
Take in the atmosphere of the tantalising Serengeti night sky while gathered around a cosy campfire in the company of friends and family. Untarnished by light pollution, the remote areas of the Serengeti bush provide the perfect arena for a picturesque star-gazing experience. Marvel at the infinite sky, which features the Big Dipper in the northern hemisphere and the Southern Cross and Pointers in the south.
Traverse the skies of the Northern Serengeti for an exclusive birds-eye view of the Great Migration below. Watch as vast mammal herds pass beneath you as the morning winds direct your course from the vantage of a basket high in the sky. This truly unique game viewing experience draws to a close with a delicious breakfast spread in the heart of the Serengeti plains, after which, you can choose to continue your adventure with a full day game drive or return to camp for a leisurely morning. Please note, hot-air balloon excursions are charged at additional fees and are accessible via external camp location.
The Wild Frontiers Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Wild Frontiers. Set up in 2009, the aim of the foundation is to provide a platform to create awareness, raise money and deliver funding to projects in countries where they operate as a travel company.
Supporting the communities wherever they visit has always been at the heart of the Wild Frontiers’ ethos. Through the Wild Frontiers Foundation, they can channel money into grass roots projects, which they have either established themselves or support through charity partners. These include initiatives focused on education, the empowerment of local people and community conservation in Pakistan, India, Ethiopia, Laos and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Wild Frontiers have their own dedicated in-house Responsible Travel Team, which meets regularly to review and measure responsible travel policies. This is not only crucial to help ensure best practice across both group tour and tailor-made holiday itineraries, but the ideal forum to develop new ideas and initiatives.
They guarantee that when designing tours, they utilise their own experiences to break down barriers, and provide ethical business for those lesser-known areas that have so much to offer.
Wild Frontiers pride themselves on challenging perceptions and raising awareness through low impactexperiences and responsible tourism, limited not just through charity work. The guiding principle is to both create and operate tours that have a positive and sustainable social, economic and environmental impact.
As well as a focus on environmental and cultural tourism, the wellbeing of all wildlife and natural habitats is a fundamental cornerstone of operations at Wild Frontiers. For instance, elephant riding is not an activity you will find on their itinerary list as animal exploitation and all activities corresponding to it is abhorred and condemned wherever possible. During horse riding trips, for instance, they ensure the horses used are bred locally and are in the best possible condition.
In the same way that small group sizes have minimal impact on the environments they visit, Wild Frontiers work hard to ensure any interaction with wildlife is non-invasive and respects their habitat. The focus is on ensuring sustained, long-term benefits for wildlife in the same manner they provide for local communities and the destinations they visit.
As a member of TOFTigers, Wild Frontiers donate £20 for each of their clients that visit tiger reserves in India. These donations assist TOFTigers in its global campaign to protect tigers, wildlife and wilderness in the Indian subcontinent and benefits rural communities through sustainable nature tourism. TOFTigers operate a global supply chain campaign involving more than 180 companies to ensure sustainable policies and practices.
Their pioneering PUG eco-rating scheme now covers more than 60 wildlife lodges in 20 parks in India and Nepal, with plans to extend much more widely. They also support a network of Village Wildlife Guardians, run Wildlife Tourism Awards, publish the Good Wildlife Travel Guide, and promote conservation, nature education and responsible tourism in wildlife reserves.
As a travel company, Wild Frontiers have a responsibility to the countries, communities and environments they visit. With this responsibility comes the opportunity to make a genuine difference. In this time of climate crisis, and pressure on all sectors of the travel industry to look at its practices and help reduce carbon emissions, the need to re-assess and uphold responsible travel policies has never been greater. Wild Frontiers has automatically off-set staff and clients’ international flights for the last 15 years. They were among the first UK-based tour operators to implement the initiative in 2005, contributing to renewable energy projects.
In 2020, Wild Frontiers took this a step further and began focusing on reducing their carbon footprint, both operationally in their UK office, and on the ground in destination. They began working with specialist consultants at EcoAct to put together a carbon reduction management plan with the aim of becoming carbon neutral. Through measuring, reducing and off-setting carbon emissions, both in the air and on the ground, the scope of the work yet to come reveals itself in abundance.
While working towards a carbon reduction management plan, which looks at modes of transport, accommodation, food and waste, Wild Frontiers will be contributing to carbon reduction projects in the destinations they visit. This contribution will off-set approx. 1.5 tonnes of carbon per passenger for ‘on the ground carbon emissions. ‘For perspective, 1.5 tonnes of carbon emissions are the equivalent of traveling via car from London to Dublin 19.5 times’ – EcoAct. Wild Frontiers are also continuing their flight off-setting programme, as well as working with partners and clients to help them make more informed choices on reducing their own footprint.
Since teaming up with Water-to-Go in early 2018, Wild Frontiers staff, tour leaders and clients have saved thousands of throw away plastic bottles by choosing to use refillable, filtered water bottles. As a part of Wild Frontier’s traveller code, they are asking all travelling customers to consider adopting these bottles, or similar, which provide safe drinking water when filling up from a hotel room tap or a natural water source. It’s no mystery that using filtered water bottles while travelling in developing countries can be nerve-wracking, however, Wild Frontier have road tested these in different environments from India to Madagascar with great success.
Water-to-Go is a filtration system that eliminates 99.9% of microbiological contaminants from any non-saltwater source in the world and provides clean, safe water. By utilising one of these handy bottles, you can help reduce single use plastic, while keeping hydrated no matter where you are in the world.
They road-tested several different brands of filtered water bottles. All did a good job but it was found that the Water-to-Go bottle came out on top, ushering the confidence to put their name to it and launch their own Wild Frontiers branded bottles.
To demonstrate their commitment to reducing plastic water bottle waste and in response to overwhelming levels of concern expressed in client feedback, Wild Frontiers made the decision to stop providing bottled water as a part of group tours from January 2019. Water is still available on tours; however, it is now an additional cost. Rather like charging for plastic bags at the supermarket, it’s hoped that this new policy will help encourage more travellers to bring their own reusable bottle.
Keeping well-hydrated is an essential part of staying healthy on tour and they will always ensure that there is regular access to drinking water. ‘Bottled water will still be made available to those that want it. ‘We’re not trying to make people feel guilty and of course there may be places and situations in which we may need to provide water, but we don’t want to be part of the plastic problem anymore’ – Wild Frontiers CEO & Founder, Jonny Bealby.
In accordance with Wild Frontiers ethos of treading lightly and resource conservation, Serengeti North Wilderness Camp has adopted a range of eco-friendly initiatives aimed at reducing the camps collective footprint. For instance, lighting and other energy consuming outlets are powered by solar energy, negating the need for conventional diesel-powered generators which are detrimental to the environment. To save water, all toilet facilities within camp are eco flush adapted, with outdoor showers also optimised for optimum water conservation.
Serengeti North Wilderness Camp welcomes all families with children aged 6 years and older. However, due to the sometimes unpredictable and potentially hazardous nature of the environment, children must be supervised by an adult at all times.